Jorge Concha

Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School

“Analytical and people-oriented professional with a proactive and results-driven way of life.”

Hometown: Santiago, Chile

Fun Fact About Yourself: I really enjoy the fishing experience, but I have been unable to catch a fish in my life. I think it is more about the experience than the result.

Undergraduate School and Major: Universidad de Chile, Escuela de Economía y Negocios (University of Chile, Business and Economics School)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Rabobank, Investment Banking Associate

What has been your favorite part of St. Louis so far? What makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? Forest Park. When I was applying to WashU from Chile, I was very curious about this park adjacent to the campus before I learned that it is one of the biggest city parks in the U.S. When I arrived in St. Louis, I was impressed by all of the beauty and attractions of the park. I used to visit every week to ride my bike, play tennis, or just be immersed in the art museums or the greenhouses or just the nature of the park.

There are plenty of places like Forest Park. St. Louis is an affordable city that provides fun activities to do every day. This city has one of the best deals for student life. Also, I was impressed by the access that St. Louis provides to visit other cities in the U.S. is impressive. We have an international airport less than 20 minutes from the campus with direct flights to every corner of the U.S., a very convenient aspect for recruiting and tourism.

Finally, I would like to mention the commitment of the St. Louis community to local entrepreneurship, a spirit reflected in different mentoring and financial support for entrepreneurs. Many of them are WashU students from our MBA cohorts and other graduate and undergraduate schools of WashU, and they can accelerate their ideas thanks to this characteristic St. Louis entrepreneurial spirit.

You completed your global immersion earlier this year. What was the best part of the immersion experience for you? What was the biggest takeaway you gained? The kick-off of the global immersion with five days in Washington, D.C., was remarkable, having more than 10 talks with business and political leaders about fields like geopolitics, economic growth, health policy, and immigration. That week in D.C. provided us with an in-depth global view of the most important topics occupying the minds of our world’s leaders, a great package of information to start our global immersion and MBA program.

Also, to have had the opportunity to host all my classmates and part of the academic staff in my country of Chile at the end of the global immersion was a great gift. Like Barcelona, we were able to work with local companies and visit great places in my country, which revealed part of our national culture and geographic boundaries.

Aside from your immersion and classmates, what was the key part of WashU Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I chose Olin’s MBA program because of the commitment of the academic staff, which was reflected in the university’s strategic plan. The plan emphasized our success as global professional leaders, and the university put all the resources in place to achieve that goal. When I was in my MBA program search and application process, this was the main point that I remember talking about with current students and alumni. Now, as a student, I can confirm that this is true. The university provides many opportunities, besides purely academic ones, for us to develop as future business leaders.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at WashU Olin? Because of my background experience in finance, I waived the foundational/core finance course during the first semester and took an elective course, “Venture Capital Methods and Practice.” The processes of investment, due diligence, funding, and growth are a fundamental new language in the venture capital industry. The course also included weekly in-person speakers from the industry who reinforced different topics with their practical experiences. This is a course that I would recommend to all students who would like to start their own business, especially for those who are curious or would like to join the venture capital investment ecosystem.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: It was the opportunity to open and consolidate the Rabobank office in Perú. The decision to move from BBVA Bank to Rabobank was not easy. The team at BBVA was exceptional, and there were plenty of opportunities to continue growing there. Still, I finally made the decision to move to Rabobank and accepted the challenge to contribute to the coverage of the Bank in Perú. To work in another country is something that I recommend, going out of your comfort zone and learning from other cultures’ ways of doing business. During my years at Rabobank, we quadrupled the corporate revenues in Perú.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: We are just starting the program, and I am sure that a lot of opportunities and achievements will come for my classmates and me. Still, if I can choose a good achievement, it would be being selected to work with two PE firms in a multi-industry project assessment. The project is ongoing, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to work on this real project in parallel with my studies. There are many opportunities like this for students with an interest in complementing classes with experiential learning.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? Now I am reading The Man Who Solved the Market, the biography of Jim Simons, a world-class mathematician and founder of Renaissance Technologies, a pioneer hedge fund with the Quant investment thesis. This is a must-read book for those who are interested in pursuing an investment career but also recommended for all students who would like to understand, in an applied way, how part of the investment industry works in current times.

Also, a friend from the MBA program recommended watching the series The Men Who Built America, the 12-chapter docuseries about the history of famous 19th-century entrepreneurs. It is a great way to better understand U.S. economic history, especially for international students. It incorporates many concepts from corporate economics, like game theory and oligopolies, among others.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into WashU Olin’s MBA program? Just to apply after completing all common requirements and to ask for direct contact with alumni or current MBA students for a coffee chat. The university has a big group of first- and second-year students who are very committed to contributing to this recruiting process with potential applicants. We are open to talking with candidates, providing advice about the application process, and resolving any doubts that could arise. Applicants can also do this through sources like LinkedIn. If the student is an international applicant, I encourage them to search out and talk with students with whom they share commonalities, such as nationality or work experience.

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